Politico's Most Powerful in Europe

https://www.politico.eu/politico-28-class-of-2025/

As expected, Giorgia Meloni is ranked as the most powerful person in Europe. When Angela Merkel stepped down it was Macron's time but he squandered it and was sidelined by his own domestic troubles. Meloni has (in part) triangulated the Right and as such stayed within the fold of the EU Establishment. At the same time her triangulation has allowed her to stay within the sphere of elements far to her Right but most importantly of all - she has successfully shifted the EU itself to the Right. Ursula von der Leyen has embraced Meloni for her own political survival.

In fact all of this has generated a small crisis or debate within the Right. Many of these parties have been Eurosceptic but now there's a real chance that if they coalesce they can capture control of Brussels. Would they still be anti-EU? It seems unlikely at that point. Or - and maybe some hope for this, that such a moment would in fact shatter the unity of the Right and set them against each other.

The EU's embrace of Meloni also reins her in and allowing her to bask in the moment of her ascendancy. As such, she's unlikely to make a radical move and saw off the branch upon which she sits. They've made it attractive for her to straddle the two realms even while they wait her out, hoping that the tide will turn in the near future.

For her part, she's also waiting for the right moment in which she can consolidate the Right under her leadership. She has serious rivals in Orban, LePen, and even Salvini in Italy. For the moment she's enjoying her moment in the sun and waiting to see what will happen around the next bend.

Power certainly corrupts and many an ideologue has rounded off the corners and triangulated ideology in order to stay at the summit. We'll have to see what 2025 brings. Will Meloni (who is relatively young at 47) become a longstanding member of the European Establishment or will she play her cards too early and burn out before she's 55? Or will she galvanize the Right and transform European politics for the next generation? Time will tell.

Her rise has been meteoric and interesting to watch. Who would have thought that someone who cut their teeth on the fringe and within the remnants of Mussolini's fascist movement would in the twenty-first century become the chief mover and shaker in Europe?

Obviously Brexit also helped this - a move many in the UK have come to seriously regret.

With French politics in turmoil and much of the public waiting until Macron's term will end in 2027, and with German politics paralyzed, Meloni is riding high into 2025. It's Italy's moment to be sure and while the arrival of Trump is cause for despair in most of Europe - for Meloni it's a gift.